


The Wager

by Talon88



Category: Star Wars Legends - All Media Types
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-01-22
Updated: 2019-01-22
Packaged: 2019-10-14 06:22:41
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,577
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17503304
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Talon88/pseuds/Talon88
Summary: This is another Fanfic Writing Challenge.  I had to write a story that has Mara, Luke and Talon in it.  Someone has to lose a wager, there is an argument and then a kiss.





	The Wager

**_14 ABY_ **

**_Wild Karrde_** : Hydian Way—Somewhere in hyperspace

Luke Skywalker scrutinized the cards in his hand before looking up at the _Wild Karrde_ crew members sitting around the galley dinning table, each man gazing at his own cards while trying to maintain a blank expression. Of course through the Force he could usually determine who had a better hand, but since he was somewhat confused by the rules, and didn't know if his hand was good or bad, that really didn't give him much of an advantage. He looked over to Talon Karrde who was gracious enough to give Luke a ride from Yavin IV to Coruscant on his cargo ship. It saved Luke a long flight in a cramped X-wing cockpit and it gave him an opportunity to talk with his old friend, Mara Jade. He hadn't seen her for such a long time and he had to admit, he missed her terribly. "So," he asked Karrde. "If we have a number five card, we have to throw down?"

Karrde shook his head. "That was three plays ago. Chin had the five, threw it down and then gave an alternate rule of sixes being wild, but then Aves threw down a six and changed the rule to having to reverse order whenever an eight is discarded."

Luke shook his head. "I'm having trouble playing a game where the rules change at every play. How am I supposed to win?"

"We'll tell you if you win," Chin reassured Luke with a sardonic grin.

With the exception of Mara Jade, the entire crew, Karrde, Aves, Chin and Ghent were playing this bewildering card game with Luke. The Jedi looked over to Mara who was sitting across the room and reading her datapad. "I don't think I understand this game. Maybe Mara can take my place."

Aves shook his head emphatically. "No way, she cheats." He pointed to his forehead. "She has the Force."

Luke gazed at the crewmen in confusion. "You do know I'm a Jedi Master, don't you."

Chin shrugged. "Yeah, but you wouldn't cheat." He turned to Mara and glowered at her. "Mara is a cheater!"

She huffed out a half laugh. "You can't prove anything Chin. You are just a sore loser." Mara put down her datapad and sauntered over to the group, her formfitting jumpsuit hugging every curve of her body. "You guys just don't want to admit you lost to a woman."

"Was it this game you won in?" Luke asked.

A smile spread across her lips as her green eyes took on a glint of amusement. "No it was a game called Dekardik. It is part card game and part drinking game. You play until all the cards are gone or until you pass out. They think I used the Force to break down the alcohol and drink them all under the table."

Karrde raised an eyebrow. "And you didn't?"

Mara turned to her boss, her lips a flat line of disapproval. "No, I didn't."

"She should play again, but this time against Luke," Ghent suggested. "He'd know if she was using the Force."

"Oh no," Luke waved his hands. "I'm not going to get involved in this dispute."

Chin made a noise of disgust. "That's because you know you'd have to out her for her cheating!"

Mara looked like she was going to argue but then a mischievous grin curved her lips as she gazed at Luke. "I'll play if Skywalker plays."

The crew all let out a whoop of excitement. Luke looked about uneasily. "No, wait. I didn't agree to this."

Mara slid into a seat across from the Jedi. "Let's put up a little wager."

Luke was getting exceedingly uneasy with this situation but it was rare for Mara to interact with him in a playful manner. In fact this was the first time she had spoken more than two sentences to him since his breakup with Callista. He didn't want to ruin what might turn out as a rekindling of their friendship. "Okay, I'll wager. If I win you will be my date at the Coruscanti Chief-of-State ball next month."

Mara thought about that for a long moment. "I just have to go to the dance with you…right? No dinner…or anything else."

Luke smiled brightly. "Of course."

Mara nodded. "Okay, and if I win you have to stop pestering me about Jedi training."

Her request saddened Luke. He had always hoped Mara would come back to the Jedi Academy. He took in a deep breath and let it out slowly. "I'll accept that bet."

Chin jumped up with a hoot. "Alright. We are going to have a Jedi and Jedi-don't-want-to-be show down." He opened the cupboard over the galley sink and made a loud sound of disapproval. "Where's the whiskey?"

Karrde chuckled. "I believe you drank the last of it last night." He looked over to Luke. "I think you have a reprieve."

"No, I have something." Ghent jumped up from his seat and jogged down the corridor to his cabin.

"You don't even drink, Ghent!" Aves pointed out.

"I know." They could hear their blue-haired friend in his cabin searching for something. "I don't drink, and that's why I still have that bottle of alcohol given to me by that Zabrak trader last year." He came out of his room holding up a bottle filled with blue liquid. "He said it was a bestseller on his planet and gave me a free sample. I thought I would keep it for a special occasion."

Aves barked out a laugh. "Seeing Mara lose a bet is a fairly special occasion."

Ghent handed the bottle to Karrde who inspected the label. "Topan Blue. Artfully crafted and aged thirty years. Distilled and bottled by the Horandal Distillery. Please drink responsibly."

Chin grabbed a couple glasses and put them on the table in front of Mara and then Luke. He then grabbed up the discarded cards and shuffled the deck as he explained the rules to Luke. "It's easy. I deal out five cards to each of you and then I put one card face up. Your goal is to be the first person that can put down a card with a denomination that when added to the card will make an even number or you can put down a card of the same suit or number. If you are not the first to do it then you have to take a shot and I give you an additional card. If neither can put down a card both take a shot and I give each a new card. I then put down another card face up and we do it again. The first person who gets rid of their cards…wins."

Luke felt a nervous churning in his stomach. He really didn't want to get drunk. "Listen, I think I will concede defeat. I really don't want to show up at Coruscant with a hangover." He smiled sadly at Mara. "I guess you won't have to hear me nag you about training."

He was about to stand but Mara stopped him. "How about we both use the Force to break down the alcohol. This way we can see who's better at that particular skill."

"I knew you were cheating!" Chin pointed at Mara and glared.

Mara rolled her eyes. "Maybe I cheated a little." She grinned smugly. "What do you say, Jedi."

"We both can use the Force and whoever wins the card game is the winner."

Mara nodded. "Yes."

Luke turned to Chin. "Deal the cards."

.

.

.

  
Karrde watched in amusement as Luke and Mara downed a drink, shuddered and occasionally made a gagging noise. Karrde suspected Topan Blue was an exceedingly strong beverage. Both Force-users appeared completely sober despite the fact that they've went through half the bottle already, but Karrde was beginning to become concerned over his second-of-command's behavior. She was usually very tightlipped and not one with a tendency of verboseness, but since the game started she has talked incessantly…and about subjects she usually doesn't comment on. Luke appeared equally garrulous. Karrde leaned against the ship bulk head and decided to keep and eye on the two.

"So, have you given up looking for Callista?" Mara asked after downing her tenth shot of the night.

A pained expression etched Luke's face. "Yes. She's still searching for a way to reconnect with the Force."

"Stupid kriff-nut," Mara muttered under her breath.

Luke gazed at his friend sadly. "That's not fair. She lost everything—her old life, her friends, her previous lover. Her conscious was trapped for thirty years in the computer; during that time her only hope and thoughts were to once again touch the Force. I can't blame her."

"I can," Mara said in a snarky tone. "She got a new body and a second chance at life and love and she blew it. She's an idiot." She quickly slapped down a matching card over the newly dealt card. "Ha! Drink up farmboy."

Luke's face clouded with anger as he downed another drink. "You shouldn't talk about her that way Mara. She loves me."

"Not enough to stay." She quickly slapped down another card. "That's another drink, Jedi."

"I don't like your tone." Luke's mood turned defensive. "She said she couldn't be a good companion to me while she was Force blind. When she finds the Force we can be a family."

Mara looked over her cards and laughed. "Oh please. She did it for you? How sweet of her to at least try to soften the blow while giving you some false hope that she will one day return." She slapped down another card. "You don't need the Force to love somebody. Han seems to do just fine with Leia without the Force. How about Mirax and Corran? You can't deny their love. She left because the Force was more important to her than you." She paused for a breath. "The way she treated you was horrible!"

Luke glowered at Mara. He was angry at her mean-spirited words, but also because he knew it was true. Callista wasn't coming back. She didn't love him enough. He angrily slammed down a card. "Your turn!"

Mara drank another shot while waiting for Chin to dropped the next card.

Luke made a huffing sound. "You are one to criticize people for deserting me. You left Yavin IV, you abandoned your training and you abandoned me."

Luke saw Karrde push away from the wall he was leaning against and walked over to the table. He put a hand on Chin's arm stopping him from dealing the next card. "I think we should call this a draw."

"Why?" Mara asked obstinately. "I'm sober." She pointed over to Luke. "Farmboy is sober."

Luke was unsure why Karrde was trying to end the game. He was completely clearheaded and Mara didn't appear impaired in anyway. "We're fine."

Karrde looked to the two but then shrugged and backed off. "Okay."

Chin flipped over another card. Luke looked over his hand and frowned. "I got nothing."

Mara nodded. "Same here."

Aves poured out two more shots for them to drink.

Mara sipped the drink before glaring at Luke. "I wouldn't have left Yavin IV if you played any attention to me. I don't know why you even started an Academy when you were half trained yourself. You rushed to restore the Jedi order." She pointed to the Jedi accusingly. "After Wayland we should have studied together. I would have entered a concordance of fealty with you like I did with Kyle Katarn if you offered. But no, you wanted to have a huge Academy so you went running off looking for Force users." She slammed down another card. "Your shot."

"What?" Luke felt sick to his stomach. He never imagined Mara would have worked with him in private after Wayland, but she was right…he never asked her. He wanted her as one of his many students, but didn't offer to train with her one-on-one. "You would have stayed with me…and trained."

"If you asked after Wayland…I would have." Chin put down a new card and Mara shook her head. "I don't have anything."

Luke ran a hand over his face. He was an idiot. Things could have been so different if he asked her to stay with him. The two working together alone, without other apprentices, it would have avoided so much misery. Kyp wouldn't have blown up a solar System, Gantoris wouldn't have died and the entire fiasco with Exar Kun could have been avoided. With Mara at his side he wouldn't have had to face the Emperor Reborn alone. They might have fallen in love and married. They could have a family by now. A wave of despair rolled over Luke as he realized all that he lost. His gaze at his friend as a blush heated his skin.

_'We might have fallen in love.'_

He averted his eyes realizing he fell in love with this woman a long time ago. He was a fool for never doing anything about it. And now it was too late.

"Luke," Chin pulled the Jedi out of his musings. "Do you have a card or do I deal out two more."

Luke looked over his cards again. "Two more." He looked up at Mara sadly. "I'm sorry. I didn't think you would be interested. I thought if I suggested that that we'd do things…privately, I would run you off." He picked up his drink and downed it. The alcohol burned on the way down, but he used the Force to catabolize the ethanol into harmless components.

Mara stared at him for a long moment before chugging down her drink. "I thought there was something between us. I thought maybe I found somebody who could understand me."

"Mara," Luke whispered before he reached out across the table and put his hand over hers. "Enter a concordance of fealty with me now. I'll take a sabbatical from the Academy. I have other instructors that can teach. They don't need me. But I need you." He didn't know why he felt so talkative and open, but he felt the words flow from him. "I love you Mara."

"I…I don't know what I think…but there has been something I've wanted to do for a long time," Mara whispered huskily as she stood and reached over the table and grabbed Luke by the collar of his tunic and pulled him toward her until her lips captured his. Luke was shocked and elated by her response as he brought his arms around her back and neck and returned the kiss with a passion.

Luke was in heaven until Karrde ran up and pulled them apart like an overprotective father. "Stop it! You two are drunk."

Luke gazed at his old friend. "No we're not." He turned back to Mara. "We're in love."

Talon grabbed the bottle off the table and put it on the galley counter. "You two are not in love. You barely tolerate each other."

Luke stood and held a hand out to Mara. "No, I've loved her for a long time." He pulled her into his embrace and held Mara tightly against his body. It felt good and so right. He looked into Mara's deep green eyes. "Let's go to my cabin...to talk."

"Okay," she said breathlessly."

They were walking down the corridor hand-in-hand until two stunbolts from Talon Karrde's blaster rang out dropping the couple.

The smuggler boss looked at his crew in a near panic. "Aves, take us out of hyperspace. Ghent, get on the holonet and find out what you gave them to drink. I want to know the symptoms, side effects and treatment for overuse." He turned to Chin. "Grab Luke and put him in his cabin. I'll get Mara in hers. Maybe when they wake up they won't remember any of this."

The crew scurried off to complete their various tasks. "He didn't look drunk," Chin said as he hooked his hands under Luke's arms and dragged him to his sleeping quarters.

"Neither did Mara, but there is no way she would have acted or said those things if she was in her right mind. When she wakes up she's going to be furious at all of us for getting her into this situation." Karrde picked up Mara and carried her to her room, depositing her gently on her bunk, making sure she was laying on her stomach incase she vomited at night.

He exited to find Ghent running off the flight deck with datapad in hand. "I am so sorry. That drink is not for human consumption. Zabraks, Twi'leks and Zeltrons can drink it, but it has adverse affects on humans. With my blue hair that trader must have thought I was a light skinned Zeltron."

Karrde's jaw tightened. "What effects?"

Ghent looked over the list. "Profound drunkenness, slurring of words, loss of consciousness, vomiting, nausea," he lowered the datapad and shrugged. "I guess those two _can_ break down alcohol."

"So why were they acting strange?"

Ghent continued reading. "There is a chemical called Drotroncine that gives the drink its blue color, but it affects the human brain. I can depress the centers of the brain involved in judgment. It completely lowers inhibitions and can act like a truth serum." He read some more and smiled. "Temporary amnesia is another side effect." He lowered the datapad. "There is a good chance they won't even remember this."

Karrde blew out a relieved breath. "We can only hope." He walked over to the galley and poured the remainder of the bottle down the sink. "If they ask, tell them Luke won the bet."

Ghent cocked his head to the side in confusion. "Why's that?"

Karrde grinned. "Because you heard them, they like each other. I think those two going to a dance together might be the start of a wonderful relationship."

.

.

.

  
Mara woke up the next day with a throbbing headache. She rolled over onto her back and realized she was in her cabin. She tried to remember the night before but it was just a jumbled of images. She concentrated on the memories, but realized they were probably some alcohol induced hallucinations. There was no way she would have kissed Skywalker. She sat up, ignoring the sharp pain in her head, and carefully stood, making sure her legs were steady. She walked out of her cabin and down the corridor where Chin was in the kitchen cooking up eggs and nerf sausage. The smell of food made her stomach spasm. He looked up from the grill and smiled at her broadly. "You're awake. That booze must be Force resistant because you and your Jedi friend passed out when you were only halfway through the bottle."

Mara thought back, trying to remember the night before, but drew a blank. "Really? Who won?"

Chin gave an apologetic smile. "Sorry, but Luke won. I guess you're going to the dance."

She knew she should be upset that she lost to Luke and had to go to one of those infernal balls, but she couldn't find the strength to get angry. "Okay." She turned and started to return to her cabin. She was startled when Luke stumbled out of his cabin his hands squeezing his temples.

"Oh," he groaned. "I feel terrible."

Mara chuckled softly. "I feel worse. According to Chin, you won the bet."

Luke gazed at her intently. "Do you remember anything?"

She shook her head. "No. Do you?"

Luke looked to the deck before his eyes came up and locked on hers. "No, but I have an overwhelming desire to apologize to you. I don't know what for…but I have a elusive memory of upsetting you."

She looked away. "I'm sure it was nothing." She walked up to him and gave him a hug and then stepped back, a look of confused horror on her face. "I don't know why I did that."

Luke blushed. "I think we are both a little confused." He smiled. "So are you going with me to the dance?" He hesitated and then reached out and took her hands in his. "I won't make you keep your part of the bet if you really don't want to go."

She looked down at their clasped hands and wondered why she wasn't upset by his touch. "I don't mind."

"Good." Luke gave her hands a squeeze before letting go and throwing a thumb in the direction of his cabin. "I think I'll sleep off this hangover a little more."

"I think so too." Mara wandered back to her cabin and laid down wondering why she was looking forward to the dance with Skywalker. "I must be really hung over."

.

.

.

  
Karrde popped his head out of the flight deck door, making sure Luke and Mara were gone, before he walked down to the galley to talk to Chin. "What did they say?"

The man gave Karrde a toothy grin. "She didn't remember anything."

Karrde smiled. "Good. Maybe we'll survive this ordeal after all."

Chin shrugged. "Maybe, maybe not." He turned to his boss. "Remember, Ghent said it caused _temporary_ amnesia."

Talon closed his eyes and groaned. "I hope we're not on the same planet _if_ and _when_ she remembers what happened."

"Planet?" Chin scoffed. "We better hope we're not in the same galaxy."

 


End file.
